Variable-width swirl pattern in candy

ABSTRACT

Hard candy exhibiting a plurality of segments having differing colors and varying widths is produced by depositing a plurality of supersaturated solutions of ingredients of differing colors into a mold through a nozzle which has openings around its periphery wherein the openings have different widths.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to hard candy wherein sectors of two ormore colors are arranged in a pattern radiating outwards from a midpointon each surface of the candy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hard candies, that is, solid individual pieces which fit comfortablyinto the mouth, are of course well known. It is also known in general tomake hard candies which are of a single uniform color, or which exhibittwo or more colors.

Hard candies are traditionally considered to consist of supercooled,supersaturated sugar or sugar alcohol solutions and to exhibit thecharacteristics of amorphous solids. The moisture content of suchtraditional hard candies is generally in the range of from 1/2-3 1/2%.Dairy-based hard candies may also include various ingredients such ascream, butter and milk, which contribute to properties such as mouthfeel and flavor. Fat based hard candies, sometimes known as toffee, maycontain vegetable, dairy or animal fats to provide a rich food mouthfeel. If a suitable gelling or aerating agent is added to hard candy,and the moisture content is raised to the range of 6-9%, a so-called"chew" results. As used herein, the term "hard candy" refers to all ofthe foregoing food products.

Hard candies which are comprised of two or more regions of differingcolors can be made by any of various depositing technologies. Suchtechnologies often have involved complex machinery and processingconditions.

It has become desirable in the field of hard candies to be able toproduce a product which exhibits a plurality of segments of differingcolors, wherein the segments are not all identical to each other butexhibit a variety of widths. By "segment" is meant herein a region ofone color which is generally triangular in shape, extending from a pointon the surface of the hard candy and gradually increasing in width as itextends toward the outer edge of the candy piece, in which the colorextends through the piece to the other surface. It would be desirable tobe able to form a candy piece wherein the widths of various of thesegments at the outer edge of the candy differ one from another, andespecially wherein the widths of adjacent segments at the outer edgediffer. Hard candy having such an appearance is believed to provide aninteresting and visually pleasing appearance to the customer andconsumer.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention satisfies these objectives, and provides the otheradvantages described herein.

In one aspect, the invention is a hard candy with top and bottomsurfaces and a circumferential outer edge at which the top and bottomsurfaces meet, wherein both said top and bottom surfaces comprise aplurality of segments of at least two different colors, wherein eachsegment begins at a common midpoint on said surface and growsprogressively in width from said midpoint to said outer edge and extendsthrough said piece to the other surface, and wherein there are segmentshaving at least two different widths at said outer edge, wherein saidsegments extend axially through said candy from the top surface to thebottom surface. The piece of candy can be in the shape of a disc or canhave any other desired shape such as a heart.

Another aspect of the present invention is the method of producing sucha hard candy, by providing a plurality of flowable supersaturatedsolutions of candy ingredients equal in number to the desired number ofcolors, and depositing said solutions into a mold through a nozzlehaving around its periphery openings equal in number to the desirednumber of segments, wherein said openings vary in width, whereinadjacent openings receive supersaturated solutions of differing colors,and allowing the product in said mold to solidify.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a piece of hard candy according to the invention.

FIG. 2A is a view of a nozzle plate used in the production of hard candyaccording to a first embodiment of the invention wherein the peripheryopenings are progressively wider.

FIG. 2B is a view of a nozzle plate used in the production of hard candyaccording to a second embodiment of the invention wherein the peripheryopenings are of intermittent width.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring first to FIG. 1, a piece 1 of hard candy has top surface 2,bottom surface 3 (not seen), and peripheral edge 4. The piece ispreferably circular, but it can have another shape such as elliptical,square, rectangular, heart-shaped, and so forth.

The piece contains a plurality of segments, of which consecutivelyadjacent segments 5, 6 and 7 are labeled in FIG. 1. Each segment extendsfrom midpoint 8 in a generally triangular shape out to peripheral edge4. Midpoint 8 can be in the geometric center of piece 1, but it caninstead be located elsewhere on the top surface 2. Midpoint 8 should bespaced inward from peripheral edge 4 a sufficient distance that thesegment or segments which extend the shortest distance from an"off-center" midpoint to the closest peripheral edge still have somecolor. The boundaries between adjacent segments can be generallystraight (recognizing that in modern high-speed depositing technologies,perfectly straight lines are difficult to obtain), but the boundariescan instead be curved, as in a gentle arc, or can swirl, as in a generalS-shape.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the outermost edges 9, 10 and 11 of segments5, 6 and 7 have widths which differ one from the other. Especially, thewidths of adjacent segments differ. This pattern of varying widthsaround the peripheral edge 4 can be seen all the way around the piece ofcandy. It can also be seen that the segments extend axially through thepiece from the top surface to the bottom surface.

The number of segments must be at least 2, is preferably 6 to 14, and ismore preferably 10-14 and even more preferably 12. There are preferably2 colors, arranged in alternating segments, but 3 or more colors canalso be used. The segments should exhibit at least 2 different widths,preferably at least 3, and more preferably at least 4. The widthspreferably fall in the range of 0.05 inch to 0.15 inch. Preferably, eachsegment has a unique width, although of course segment widths can bewhatever the designer chooses.

The candy itself is made of conventional ingredients. The productioninvolves preparation of flowable masses of differing colors, each beingan aqueous supersaturated solution of the candy ingredients, anddepositing the solutions through the nozzle into a mold where the finalunit product is then allowed to solidify by cooling. The primaryingredient in the product is sweetener, which can be for example any ofsucrose, sugar alcohols, fructose, corn syrup, invert sugar, intensivenatural or synthetic sweeteners, and combinations thereof. Optionalingredients include fats and/or vegetable oils, such as milk fat andcoconut oil, for texture and mouth feel. Representative of a typicalcomposition of the flowable mass is an aqueous supersaturated solutionof about 45 to about 70% by weight sucrose, about 30 to about 55% byweight corn syrup solids, and 0 to about 3% by weight flavoring and/orcoloring agent.

There should be provided as many separate flowable compositions as thereare colors in the desired final product. Thus, each flowable compositionhas a color, either by containing a coloring agent or by being of thecolor imparted by the particular combination of ingredients of which itis composed. There are numerous examples of food-grade coloring agentssuitable for use in this invention to provide any desired color. Inpractice, it is preferred to employ approximately equal amounts of eachmaterial of each color, for reasons of production efficiency andeconomics. However, it may also be desirable to use other ratios ofmaterials.

Each flowable composition is fed into hoppers, in preparation for beingdeposited by the depositor into molds. The depositor should be ofessentially conventional design, except as described herein, such thateach separate flowable composition is fed through the nozzle withoutbeing mixed with other flowable compositions of other colors. Thedepositor should include a special nozzle such as the one shown in FIG.2, recognizing that many other designs can be employed instead as longas the basic principles described herein are observed.

Referring to FIG. 2A, there is seen a nozzle 21 which is dimensioned tofit into the orifice of the depositor being used. Plate 21 contains anumber of openings 22-33 around its periphery. As illustrated in FIG.2A, the openings 22-33 are progressively wider. As illustrated in FIG.2B, the openings are of intermittent size about the periphery. Otherconfigurations are within the contemplation of the invention, Inpractice, there should be as many openings as there are to be segmentsin the desired deposited piece of candy. The openings have a variety ofwidths. Preferably, no pair of adjacent openings has the same width.Each opening should be in the range of 0.05 to 0.15 inch wide. Theopenings are arranged so that the deposited product presents segmentshaving a variety of widths.

In operation, the flowable compositions are pumped through the nozzleshown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, in otherwise conventional manner such that eachindividual piece is deposited into a mold where the pieces are allowedto cool to form the final hard candy pieces.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of producing a hard candy having aplurality of segments of at least two different colors, comprisingproviding a plurality of flowable supersaturated solutions of candyingredients equal in number to the desired number of colors, anddepositing said mixtures into a mold through a nozzle having around itsperiphery openings equal in number to the desired number of segments,wherein said openings vary in width, wherein said flowable solutions areoperatively connected to said openings such that adjacent openingsreceive differently colored flowable mixtures, and allowing saidflowable mixtures in said mold to solidify.
 2. A method in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said candy comprises 6 to 14 segments.
 3. A methodin accordance with claim 1 wherein each segment is of a unique width.